So Close yet So far
by Trashbags
Summary: A charity basketball game gets the old wilcats back together, but when the game is sceduled the exact date as Chad's wedding, is there anything him or his friends can do to help? A Chaylor fic with some Troyella, Zekepay, Jelsi, and Ryan by himself.
1. Telephone Hour

Summary: It's Chad and Taylor's wedding in a few weeks, and everything seems to be perfect. The whole thing has been planned, the couples are happy, nothing could go wrong. But when a charity basketball game that is going to get all the old wildcats together again, but Taylor doesn't wish to change anything, especially since the wedding is to happen on Valentines Day. So when Taylor finds out about the game, she doesn't wish to reconcile with Chad, all she does is push him away more and more. Can their friends help them, or will the wedding be off for good?

Disclaimer: I do not own the whole High School Musical phenomenon, that belongs to Kenny Ortega, and who else was involved with it, I just take a few of the characters and make them go through a little grief, so please don't sue or let the evil leprechauns take me during the night!

Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to my friend Jack Sparrow's gal, because she loves High School Musical, and Troy.

"Yes?" Chad said into the phone. He got this phone call, and he did not recognize the name on the caller id, but he took it all the same. There was a pause, before he said, "wildcat's reunion basketball charity game; to happen in three Saturday s from today? I'll be there!" And he placed the phone back in its cradle. What he didn't realize that was the date of his wedding.

He picked up the phone again, and punched in Taylor's number. When his fiancé finally answered, he said quickly, "So we're still on for dinner tonight?"

"Yes Chad!"

"Great I have something to tell you then."

"Chad, tell me now."

"It's a secret!"

"Chad!" Taylor screamed into the phone but he had already hung up.

Next he decided to call Zeke. Hopefully he would answer, instead of pining in his living room for Sharpay who was in New York, New York. It was actually pathetic in the eyes of Chad, because he found a mountain lion cuter than Sharpay.

"Zeke, the wildcats are back together!" Chad yelled into the phone. "We have a charity game three Saturdays from today!"

"Isn't that the date of your wedding?" Zeke said into the phone questionately. "Valentines Day!"

Chad's face fell right then and there, "Oh no! Taylor will kill me!"

"Well uh I got one thing to say to you, good luck man I'm gonna miss you." Zeke said into the phone.

"Thanks man. So what have you been up to since Sharpay left for New York?"

"Baking."

"MmHm." Chad replied. "Well I got to go. And by the way Zeke I have a surprise for you happening in about a week, so work on your crambo lea." (A/N Is that how you spell it?)

When Chad had gotten off the phone with Zeke, he dialed Sharpay's cell phone number. Naturally he wouldn't even consider it, but he wanted to speak with Ryan, and Ryan's phone got smashed against the wall.

"Hello?" Sharpay said into the phone. "This is Sharpay Evans speaking."

"Hello Miss Evan's, This Chad Dan forth can I speak to Ryan Evans?"

"Here." She replied.

Sharpay looked back onstage to where her twin was. "Ryan! Come and get phone, it's Chad."

So Ryan jumped off stage and took his sister's phone. "Hi Chad."

"Ryan, so I talked to Zeke, and can you and Sharpay fly back to Albuquerque next week?"

"Um Yeah."

"Good. Just don't tell Sharpay what's going on. And you're still coming to my wedding, if there is a wedding?"

"Yeah man."

"See yah"

Sharpay stood back, not able to hear the conversation, "What's going on?" she mouthed to Ryan. Ryan however ignored her.

When Ryan handed the cell phone back to his sister, he said, "We have to fly to Albuquerque next week for Chad and Taylor's wedding. They want your expertise on some fashions and colors."

Next Chad decided to call his best friend and brother Troy Bolton. "Hey man put down that microphone and practices your jump shot!" Chad yelled into the phone.

"Why?" Troy asked confused.

"Because you're the team captain!" Chad replied.

"I'm professionally singing, not playing basketball." Troy answered.

"Yeah well, come back to Albuquerque, because the old wildcats have a charity game in three Saturdays!"

"I know man, I heard. I got a weird phone call about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it or not."

"Well then at least come to my wedding! You're my best man!"

"Alright man, I'll be there!"

"So Troy, where are you now?"

"Well First I was in New York, then Tennessee, and then Malibu, now I'm at the airport."

(A/N so how was the first chapter? Like it? Hate it? Chad is in trouble now, but hopefully Taylor will understand right? Please review!)


	2. Date Gone Bad

Dedication: Is to QueenChaylor2010.

Chad hopped out of the car and crossed to the other side to open Taylor's door for her, using some bad French accent.

Taylor took his hand, as they walked into the restaurant. "Thank you Chad and you're not French."

"Well I can dream can't I?"

They found an empty booth in the back, and slid in. "So what was it that you wanted to tell me Chad?" Taylor asked.

"The old team is getting back together for a charity basketball game, we're all going to be there, Troy and Gabriella are coming from the airport, and Sharpay and Ryan are even coming, I got hold of Zeke. The game is three weeks from today!"

Taylor's mouth dropped. "That's great Chad, only three weeks from today is our wedding!"

Now it was Chad's turn to be surprised. "Well then this is really important to me Tay, could we get married the day after?"

"No! Because we agreed we'd get married on Valentine's Day! And that's important to you?! So I'm not; nice to know where I am in your heart!" And with that she ran out of the restaurant crying.

Chad just sat there in shock. What could he do? He decided to call Gabriella, being best friends with Taylor, she would know what to do. But then again he didn't know Gabriella's cell phone number. So he decided to call Troy. When he punched in the number, he rapped his fingers on the wood of the table waiting for someone to answer.

"Troy!" he yelled a little too loud when he heard his friends voice. "Put Gabriella on!"

"Why do you want to talk to my wife?" Troy asked.

"Because she is Taylor's best friend and I said something and now Taylor won't speak to me, and just put her on! I'm desperate!" Chad screamed into the phone. "Wow." He said rather shocked. "I never though I'd say that."

"Alright Chad, what do you need?" Gabriella asked.

"I made Taylor mad by suggesting we change the date of the wedding, because of the basketball game, and now she won't speak to me."

Gabriella stared blankly at the phone, before saying "Try talking to her, she should come around eventually."

"Oh yes Gabriella that is so easy to do, because she is not talking to me!"

"Chad, just do what my wife says!" Troy yelled into the phone. "Bye the way we have to turn off all appliances, for takes off."

"Oh where are you going?"

"New York, New York."

"Well have fun."

When he eventually hung up with Troy, he stared blankly at his cell phone, and punched in Taylor's number. No one answered, but he left a message on the answering machine. "Hey Taylor, It's me, I know your mad, but I am sorry. Just call me back."

Taylor heard her phone ringing, but did not bother to answer it; she didn't want to talk to anyone, especially Chad Dan forth!

When Chad eventually got home, he tried calling her five more times, twice more on her cell phone, and three times on her home phone, not once did she pick up. So he then decided to email her. And over the course of three hours, he sent twenty emails to her; hopefully she would at least read one of them!

(A/N so how was this chapter? Please r&r! I hope you like this story; it is my first Chaylor fic ever! Please keep reading!


	3. Not Agian

(A/N Here is chapter 3. I hope you like it; this takes place a week after chapter 2.)

Dedication: This Chapter is dedicated to my good friend aislingmonica, because well she is a big fan of High School Musical. Oh and if you need something to read, she is a pretty good writer, and her stories are odd, but funny.

Taylor sat on her bed, checking her email on her new laptop that Chad gave her for her birthday last year. When she logged in, she saw that she had 45 unread messages. There were 2 from Gabriella, 1 from Kelsi, and 42 from Chad Dan forth. Kelsi had sent a few music compositions to be checked to see if they were okay to play at the wedding, Gabriella sent messages asking if she was alright, and she deleted the 42 from Chad without even reading them.

How could she ever think it would have worked out between her and Chad, they never fought at all during High School, since they became a couple, and after high school, they never fought once. Why couldn't she and Chad have the perfect relationship like Troy and Gabriella? They fought a few times, and now they're happily married.

Pushing her laptop to the side, Taylor laid down just daydreaming.

Taylor walked through a garden of wildflowers in a sundress, just enjoying life. Her back was to him, Chad ran swiftly and quietly towards her. Reaching Taylor, Chad placed his hands over her eyes, and said guess who.

"Hm, I don't know. Could it be Chad?" Turning around to see if she guessed right, she was met by the lips of the man she loved. Instantly she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her.

When they pulled apart, she saw his face gleaming full of mirth, and she knew all she could do was love him, and no one else.

Sitting up abruptly, Taylor decided to call Gabriella. Taylor went downstairs into the kitchen, so she could make herself a snack before heading down to the airport, to pick up her friends. Looking at the clock, she decided not to call Gabriella, because she wouldn't answer anyway.

She dug through the refrigerator, to find something to eat, but finding hardly anything, she decided on a peanut butter sandwich; she was out of jelly. She agreed she would pick up her friends at the airport, and then she they would all meet Zeke and Chad at a diner, the place with the best gourmet food around, and besides, Zeke worked there now. Zeke didn't know anything about it, but Taylor had set the whole thing up with Chad weeks before. He probably forgot this too.

At the airport, Taylor looked around everywhere for Sharpay, Ryan, Troy, and Gabriella. She eventually found them, Sharpay arguing about something about quality to a guy who worked at the front desk. Seeing her friends, she waved letting them know she was there. Gabriella and Troy waved back, while Ryan was trying to get his sister from actually making a fool of herself, and also from killing the nice man.

Ryan eventually got his sister off the nice man, and went with Taylor to her car. Ryan was a little surprised at what she drove, especially with a teacher's salary. The car was a

masa six(A/N I don't know how to spell it, all I know is that my band teacher has a car like that, and she loves it.) with leather seats! Ryan, Troy, and Gabriella piled into the backs seats, while Sharpay insisted that she ride shot gun.

At the restaurant, Chad and Zeke waited at a table in the middle for them to arrive from the air port. And Zeke had a whole box full of crambo lea that he made himself. He still had no clue what was going on, but Chad did, and he didn't like it. How could Taylor do this to him?!

And there she was, in the front of the gang walking through the door. When she saw him, she frowned, and walked over to the table, and sat down at the opposite end, to avoid sitting next to him. Ryan sat next to Chad, and Gabriella next to Ryan. Sharpay went by Zeke, which made Zeke smile from ear to ear. And Troy was next to his wife.

A waiter came with menus for them all, and asked if they could get anything to drink for them. Sharpay ordered a cappuccino, while Taylor ordered coffee; Zeke ordered some kind of energy drink, Chad had mountain dew, Ryan had the same as his sister, Gabriella had a root beer, and Troy had Pepsi.

The group discussed several topics, but the subject that came up the most was the wedding, which made Chad and Taylor angry. "So how did you guys break up in the first place?" Sharpay asked. Taylor wanted to claw the Broadway star's eyes out.

"Chad wanted to change the date of the wedding, because of a stupid basketball game!" Taylor told Sharpay.

Now it was Chad's turn to speak, "Basketball is not stupid!"

"Well you put it before me!"

At that everyone winced. Gabriella was getting a headache from the arguing, while Sharpay took out her phone and started texting. Ryan started talking with Troy and Zeke quietly, as not to disturb the two arguers.

"I HATE YOU!" Taylor yelled standing up and walking away.

"YEAH WELL I HATE YO MORE!" Chad yelled back.

When Taylor left; Gabriella excused herself to go in search of her friend. She found her in the ladies restroom in tears. Not knowing what else to do, Gabriella went and hugged her friend.

"He just makes me so mad!" Taylor said through her tears.

"I know."

"It was never like this through school, we never fought before."

"That is a little strange, because before he asked you to the after party sophomore year, you guys practically hated each other."

"I know, and now I never want to see his face again!"

"Well let's not get that far Taylor." Gabriella said handing her friend a tissue.

When Taylor eventually stopped crying, she aloud Gabriella to lead her back to the table, so they could finish their meals; back at the table, everyone else was laughing and joking like nothing happened.

Even though Taylor went back, she vowed never to speak to Chad Dan forth again! The rest of the night was lousy, and Taylor just grabbed her cell phone from her purse, and called an old friend.

That night Chad went straight home, and tried not to think of Taylor, but that was almost impossible. He never meant to make her cry like that, he did it twice, and how could he ever live with himself now?

I guess that's it for chappie three! Please review, and I will update as soon as possible.


	4. I Love you?

Here is chappie 4! Yay Me! Sorry, anyway let's just get back to the story now.

The man that was in charge of getting the wildcats back together for the basketball game called Chad once again asking if the game was on, and Chad said he didn't know, and said that he would have to talk with his friends to see if they were going to do it or not. He wished all this wasn't happening, that Taylor would talk to him, love him, kiss him. It was because of this basketball game that all this was happening anyway. It was ruining their lives! But it was a dream that they all shared, after they graduated high school, they went their separate ways, but still kept in touch, but it wasn't the same, and the game was bringing them back together, while also tearing some away from you at the same time. But now what could he do since Taylor won't listen to his apologies, every email sent, chances are she didn't read, and if she got the phone calls, surely she would have called back?

Taylor wished that none of this happened, then she could marry Chad in two in a half weeks, and be completely happy, but no! That no good basketball jerk face had to suggest moving the wedding because of some stupid game! In school she could have remained a geek of the school, and never had to deal with basketball jocks, until Gabriella moved to east high! Then she had to come up with a plan with Chad to break them up! And then they had to get them back together! Then he just had to ask her on a date to the after party, and then they just had to fall in love! And then he had to ask her to marry him, after she completed collage………Ugh! She hated Chad!

"Taylor I know I've been a jerk, but you must know this, you are first in my heart, and always will be. I love you far greater than you know.

-Chad" that was the message he left on her cell phone, but she never got it, because as soon as she saw that she received a voice message from Chad, she deleted it almost immediately. What Chad had said in his message was true; he loved her far greater than she knew and that no matter what she would always be first in his heart.

Gabriella was sitting on the couch in her living room watching TV, but not really paying attention to it, because she was thinking how to get Taylor to talk to Chad. She could hear her husband in the next room talking on the phone to one of his old basketball friends. Sometimes she wondered if Troy missed basketball, before they hooked up, he was a basketball god, but because of singing with her, he never got to play anymore. Sure they had a basketball hoop in their driveway but it wasn't the same she knew.

When Troy came back from the kitchen, he saw his wife sprawled up on the couch, with a confused look on her face, which was strange; Gabriella was the smartest girl he knew!

Gabriella noticed her husband sit down on the opposite end of the couch and moved closer to him. When her head was resting on his shoulder, he asked, "Gabi, what is bothering you?" Gabriella then positioned herself, so she was looking in Troy's eyes.

"Troy, do you ever regret marrying me, because you don't get to play basketball with your friends? If you do, I completely understand."

Troy was shocked at what his wife had said, "Regret marrying you? Never! After I sang with you that night at the ski lodge, I realized that basketball wasn't my dream it was my dad's. Singing was what I really wanted to do, and you helped me see that. I'd rather pick up a microphone with you than pick up a basketball with Zeke, Jason or Chad any day!"

"Are you sure Troy?"

"Absolutely." He said.

"Oh Troy!" Gabriella said kissing the man she loved.

"Would you like to play a little now?"

Gabriella looked at him teasingly, "Will you cry when you lose?"

"It depends, will you?"

"We'll just see about that!" And so Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand, and pulled out the door with a basketball in tow.

Gabriella was about to shoot, when Troy came up behind her and grabbed her waist.

Just then a black truck slowed down, and a man yelled, "Nice to see you back on the court Troy!"

Troy called back, "Don't you have better things to do than spy on me Jason?"

Jason looked at Troy, and said, "Yeah I was just going to pick up Kelsi for our date!"

"Awwwwww how sweet, a famous composer and an NBA star."

Jason looked at Gabriella with daggers in his eyes, "Laugh all you want Mrs. Bolton!"

"Oh I will Jason, I will."

After a while, When the basketball went rolling onto the grass, Chad picked it up from the side walk, and threw it at the backboard as hard as he could yelling, "I hate Taylor McKessie!" Troy and Gabriella looked at each other worriedly.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Gabriella asked as Chad walked on past.

And less than two minutes later, comes Taylor the same way Chad did, picking up the basketball and yelling, "I hate Chad Dan forth!" Once again Troy and Gabriella looked at each other.

Troy said then, "Well then you're not going to like this, but Chad just went the same way not two minutes ago."

Watching her best friend leave, Gabriella looked at Troy holding the basketball, and said, "We need to do something about this."

"Oh yeah."

"They helped us, we need to help them."

Troy looked at his wife, and then whispered in her ear, "This is what we're going to do……………………."

"Do you think it would work?"

"It should."

"Alright Troy, I trust you."

Chad was inside the ice cream parlor, buying a chocolate ice-cream cone. His mom said chocolate always helps with a broken heart, so he decided to try it. He was walking backwards a step, to make room for someone else, when he bumped into someone.

Taylor McKessie with her chocolate shake in hand, and took a step back to grab a napkin, when she noticed she bumped into someone. Turning around to apologize, she saw who it was she bumped into. Chad Dan forth!

"What are you doing here?!" they yelled at each other simultaneously.

Chad looked at the love of his life, and his biggest enemy at the moment, and said, "Eating away the pain."

"Same here."

"Taylor, will you please listen to what I have to say?"

Taylor allowed Chad to lead her to a booth, so they could try to talk to things out. "Sure. What do you have to say?" she said sliding into an empty booth. Chad took a seat across from her.

"Taylor." He stopped, for some reason. Taylor looked at him, as if saying 'yes, please continue…' "I love you far greater than you know, and whether you believe it or not, you and only you will be first in my heart, always. And because of you, I've decided to totally forget about the basketball game, and if you agree marry you at 10:00 in the morning on Valentine's Day."

Taylor looked at him, and asked, "You are still willing to marry me after everything that happened?"

"Yes. And when I told you I hated you, and the message I left saying that I don't hate anyone as much I hate you, I did not mean any of it. When I saw you cry, and knowing that I was the cause of your tears, I could not live with myself." He paused again. "I love you Taylor McKessie, and I will never stop loving you."

"Chad that is the sweetest thing you ever said to me. But it is your dream to get the old team back together, and neither I nor anyone else should get in the way of that dream. Don't forget completely about it."

"Taylor, I put basketball first before, and do you know where that got us? I do not wish to go back there."

Taylor did not wish to fight, nor forgive him completely unless she knew he was honestly sincere. "Chad, this chance for the old team won't come around again. Take it; we can marry some other time. I mean it."

Chad sighed, why won't she just listen to him?! "I know you mean it, but because I love you so much, I'm not going to take the opportunity."

Chad ate the rest of his ice-cream cone, before it melted. Taylor said she wouldn't be able to eat all of her shake, so Chad agreed he would help her finish it. Looking at the couple now, you wouldn't have been able to tell that they fought, and called the wedding off.

"You know what you are Chad Dan forth?! You are a no good one sided basketball jerk face!"

"Why?! Because I love you?! I wouldn't be surprised if you went and slept with every guy you saw since we broke up!" Chad screamed at her standing up, with his fists clenched into tight balls.

"So is that all you think I am, no more than a common whore?! If you didn't know me well enough to even think that, then you didn't know me at all." And then Taylor took the shake, and dumped it on his head, and left leaving a chocolate covered Chad who was completely stunned.

He didn't exactly mean what he said, he knew better than to call Taylor a whore, before they started going out, she hasn't kissed anyone. All well, what's done is done.

"How could I have been so stupid?!" Chad yelled to his bathroom mirror. He went home to wash his hair, to make sure all the chocolate had gotten out of it. "Maybe we're not as perfect as we thought. Maybe our love isn't strong. What am I going to do?"

Taylor flopped on her bed crying. At times she just didn't understand him. Sometimes he would be all sweet, and the next he would be nothing more than a lousy old jerk! She thought he knew her better than that. Just then the phone on the bed side table started to ring. Drying her tears as best she could, she then picked it up. "Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Are you alright Taylor? What happened?" It was Gabriella.

"Gabriella! Oh Um Hi!" she would have continued on like that, but Gabriella had heard the sobs coming from the other end and wanted to know what happened. "Alright, I'll tell you. I bumped into you know who this afternoon."

"Really?!"

"No Gabriella, I mean literally bumped into. I bought a chocolate shake to get rid of the pain, and I took one step back to grab a napkin, and I bumped into someone. I turned around to apologize, and guess who was there?! Chad Dan forth!"

"Really?! So then what happened?"

"We started to talk, we were both for the most understanding, and the scary part was we were getting back together…"

"Are you sure you were getting back together?!"

"Gabi! We were talking about marriage."

"Awww….Wait you and Chad?!"

"Yes!"

"Maybe you are perfect for each other then?"

"I beg to differ!"

"So what happened then?"

"We got mad, and I dumped my shake on him."

"What made you so angry at him?"

"He called me a whore!"

"Oh he is going to pay!"

(A/N Wow, this is a long chapter aye? Anyway I hope you liked it. Please review. Did you really think I was going to let them talk after three chapters and get back together?! That my friend is no story at all. The whole coincidence at the ice cream parlor was not part of Gabriella and Troy's plan, which comes to play in the next chapter.)


	5. Phase 1

Here is chapter 5. Hope you like, if you don't well then I don't know what to say then.

Gabriella ran up to her best friend Taylor McKessie, who was a ways ahead of her on the sidewalk. "Taylor, you know the councilor you called, when Troy and I fought, right when we got married, well I was wondering if I could have his number?"

Taylor looked at Gabriella and asked, "Why are you and Troy fighting again?"

Gabriella quickly assured her friend they weren't. "No, No, I need it for friends who are dating, but are angry with each other, and I really want to help them. Please?"

"Oh sure." Taylor said, getting a pen from her pocket, and quickly wrote the number down on Gabriella's left hand. "There you go."

"Thanks!"

"No problem."

As Gabriella left, Taylor tried to figure out what friends she was talking about. Finally, the realization dawned on her, as she snapped her fingers, and mouthed, "No!"

Back at home, Gabriella pretended to dial the number. Next she called Troy's cell phone.

"Phase 1 is complete!" and hung up.

Troy smiled when he heard that, now all he has to do was his part, he knew it would definitely be harder, but no problem with Sharpay's help. They acquired the Evans' help to pull this whole thing off, so Troy decided to work with Sharpay, and Ryan worked with Gabriella.

There was Chad, right on time. "Come on!" he mouthed to Sharpay. Sharpay followed him into the restaurant smiling. She pressed a few buttons on her cell phone, and it started recording the whole conversation. This was pure genius!

"Hey man, we know how hard it must be for you, Gabriella told us about the whole chocolate ice cream situation, but the main thing is you told Taylor how you feel about her." Troy told his friend.

Sharpay used a sort of puppy dog face, and said, "Did you call everyone yet and tell them the wedding is off?" Hopefully this would do it.

"Not yet" Chad said, "I'm still hoping that she will take me back. You don't know how much I love her, and how much I need her in my life. If I could, I would go right up to her, and say: Taylor, you know not how much you mean to me, and I only said all those mean things, because I was blinded by an old dream, and because of that, I lost sight of my love, and my current dream, which is to make you happy, and love you far greater than anything or anyone I loved before. I'm sorry."

Sharpay cried a fake cry that sounded almost real, "That is so beautiful." Troy shook his head at this, Sharpay's fake cry was not supposed to be in the plan, but if it works….. Well then hey! Troy quickly nudged her, and then Sharpay remembered to send the recording Gabriella.

"Wow Chad, you really care about her don't you." Troy asked.

"Yeah, and now she's gone."

After that, they left, smiling glad that it worked. Troy was going to call Gabriella, but once it was calling, Sharpay grabbed it out of his hands. "Wonder gods to Troy's angels…"

"Hi Sharpay, we got the recording!"

"Oh good, which means phase 2 is complete. We'll meet you there in a little bit, and did you call the councilor yet?"

Gabriella answered, "No, I never planned on calling anyway, but we have the number just in case we do need it."

"Alright Troy's angels we will be arriving back soon at home base."

Gabriella sighed when they hung up. Ryan definitely took notice of this sigh and asked, "What did my sister do now?"

"She's calling Troy and her _Wonder gods_ and us _Troy's angels._ They should be back soon."

Back outside, and heading towards Troy's car, Sharpay handed him back his cell phone. Troy heard everything Sharpay said, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to comment or not, he decided against it.

Back at Troy and Gabriella's house, they all worked diligently. Gabriella and Sharpay worked on cutting and editing some of Chad's message, before sending it to Taylor. When that was complete, they exchanged high fives, and then Gabriella sent the message to Taylor's laptop.

"Hey Sharpay, I guess being science geek comes in handy at times huh?"

Sharpay sent her a smile that read 'whatever'

Taylor picked up her laptop, and saw that some kind of recording was sent to her, so she opened it, and heard Chad's voice saying: "Taylor, you know not how much you mean to me, and I only said all those mean things, because I was blinded by an old dream, and because of that, I lost sight of my love, and my current dream, which is to make you happy, and love you far greater than anything or anyone I loved before. I'm sorry." After hearing that, she closed it, not knowing what to think. Part of her wanted to believe him, call him and tell him she loved him, but the other part said that he was lying, and that he was tricked into saying that, and besides, there is no way that she could forgive him not after what he said to her the other day. Her feelings were mixed up; she did not know how to feel. It was almost like she loved him, but her feelings were unclear. Her heart said to call Chad and tell him how much she loves him, while her head said, the opposite. And when the heart and the head are speaking at the same time, you always hear the head the loudest. She then checked her email, again filled with more messages from Chad, but she didn't read them, all she did was want to forget about him, and forget about love at the moment.

Back at the Bolton's, Ryan ordered pizza, while the others were talking about the plan. "You know Troy; we will have to get them to meet sometime face to face." Gabriella told her husband who was working out what else they could do.

"I haven't thought about that." admitted Troy, much to Gabriella's dismay.

Sharpay on the other hand, took out her cell phone, and called Zeke. "Hi Zeke." She said when he answered. "I was wondering if you would like to meet me for dinner and a movie later."

Zeke almost fell of his chair, Sharpay was asking him out! "Yeah sure, I'd love too." He said finally getting over the shock.

Just then Ryan came in the room, the phone pressed to his chest, and he asked, "What toppings?"

Sharpay was the one that answered lastly, flirting with Zeke. Troy and Gabriella both said pepperoni, while Sharpay said deluxe.

"Um yes, we would like a large pizza, half pepperoni, and half deluxe." Ryan then said into the phone.

When the pizza arrived, the four dug in, discussing possible outcomes for their plan. They hoped that a wedding would be on the horizon, but at the moment they weren't so sure.


	6. Another plan?

"You and Troy and a few friends are getting together at the park?" Taylor said into the phone. Gabriella had called asking her to join them. "Um Gabi, before I say yes, is Chad going to be there?"

Gabriella's mouth hung open in shock, "Um yes."

"Oh Gabriella, I just remembered I have to baby-sit for the neighbor's."

"Alright," Gabriella said hanging up the phone.

"What?" Troy asked seeing his wife's expression.

"Getting them together will be harder than we thought."

Chad sat on the couch reading a book, when he heard the phone ringing. He got up to answer it. "Hello?" he asked. It was Taylor. "Dang," he said into the phone. "I knew I forgot to get an unlisted number."

"Ha Ha very funny."

"Alright, what do you want McKessie?" he asked.

Taylor sighed, he obviously wasn't thrilled to talk to her, and 'good thing I'm not telling him I want to get back together and it was obviously a sham.' "Chad, I know we don't like each other, and agreed that we were never meant to be, but I need your help with this one thing."

"Alright, what is it?"

"Troy and Gabriella have a plan to get us back together!" she said.

"What?!"

"Yes, and you remember the councilor we got for them, they called him, to get us back together!"

Chad turned his nose up in thought, "how do you know all this?"

Taylor sighed, and said "Being a math and science whiz, and being best friend to the freaky genius girl, you figure all this out after awhile, instead of being a stupid no good lunkhead basketball man!"

"And you want me to help you, to get back at them?" Chad asked, "We'll start first thing tomorrow morning. Meet me at my house, at 8:00 a.m."

"Fine." Was her reply as she hung up.

Taylor arrived at Chad's house right on time, and rang the doorbell.

Hearing the doorbell, Chad ran downstairs, stopped at a mirror, and then opened the door. "McKessie." He said rather dryly.

"Chad." Was her reply.

"Alright, tonight Troy and Gabriella invited us both to have a picnic at the park, we start then."

"Alright, I told Gabriella I can't make it though."

"Why did you do something like that?!" Chad yelled, "That was incredibly stupid!" He kept on yelling, but Taylor had cut him off.

"Because she said that you were going to be there!"

"Me?!"

"Chad, I do not wish to fight, can we please stop?" Taylor said calming down.

"Sure." He agreed. "Alright, my watch says 8:02, are we synced?"

"Yes Chad we're synced and you don't need to wear three watches."

Chad looked at his left arm, and then lowered his head as if in shame.

Chad thought a minute, went into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and went back where Taylor sat on the couch. "Here," he said holding out the phone to her, "call them back, and said that you are now able to make it."

Taylor took the phone from his hand, and dialed The Bolton's phone number.

Chad smiled as her hand brushed against his.

"Troy, it's Taylor, I can make it tonight, plans changed all of a sudden.

"Well that's great Taylor!"

When she said goodbye to Troy, she turned the phone off, and handed it back to Chad. "Thanks Chad." She said as Chad went to hang the phone back up.

Oooohhh…….. Alright, so there is chapter 6. What are Chad and Taylor planning? Will there plan to stay broken up work, or will there friends be able to get them back together? Please review! And tell me what you think will happen.


	7. Even More Scheming?

Sharpay was with her old high school sweet heart Zeke Baylor. They would have stayed together, but ended the relationship at graduation, because neither believed in a long distance relationship. Zeke could definitely help them, she was sure of it. Well alright, she didn't know if her old boyfriend could help them or not, but it was definitely worth the risk, Chad and Taylor were meant to be!

"Alright Shar, what do we do?" Zeke asked, once again getting lost in her big blue eyes. (What color eyes does Sharpay have? I have no clue, so bear with me here!)

"Zeke, you naïve, simple little boy, it's quite simple, we get them together! DUH!"

At Sharpay's answer, Zeke could only smile, the ice princess he knew in high school, still existed, but not as icy and cold.

Kelsi was at Taylor's house, since Kelsi and Taylor were hanging out at the mall together anyway before. They had decided to go to the Bolton's picnic together. "Tay?!" Kelsi yelled through her friend's house, wanting some help with her hair.

"Yeah Kelsi?" Taylor asked appearing in the doorway of the living room, with pins in her mouth, and her hands in her hair putting a pony tail into it.

"Could you help me? All you need to do his hold a mirror for me."

"Yeah sure."

Chad and Ryan were at the mall, talking about the Sharpay and Zeke problem. Ryan and Chad both, agreed that Sharpay and Zeke were both happier when they were a couple, so they had a plan to get them back together.

**Alright so this is another extremely short chapter, but please bears with me here. I have already started to write chapter eight in my notebook, and is almost finished, so as soon as I can type that up, it will be posted. Isn't there like four plans going on now? Troy and Gabriella's, there's Taylor and Chad's, Sharpay and Zeke's, and now Chad and Ryan's; yeah so that's a lot going on. Please review!**


	8. Like Kindergarten

**Alright, so here is chapter eight. I would have updated a lot sooner, but I kind of lost my notebook, and I found when I went through my room. Yeah I know, I have a lot of notebooks. Well, here it is. I hope you like it! **

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Taylor texted to Chad as she drove to the park to meet up with her friends.

"Almost positive," was his reply.

At the park Troy, Gabriella, Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, and Jason were all there gathered by the picnic tables under the shade. "Hey guys!" Taylor greeted who all responded with a wave or a smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Sharpay said wanting the conversation to turn to her. "Whether or not you know, or whether you like it or not, Zeke and I are officially dating……again."

Whoever didn't roll their eyes, cheered and congratulated them, while Ryan could only say, "It's about time you guys!"

"Yo my brothers! My brother's girls! Shumuck," Chad greeted, trying to keep the hostility between him and Taylor alive.

"Idiot," replied Taylor.

"QUIET!" Jason shouted at the top of his lungs to avoid and fighting, and besides he and Kelsi had something to announce.

"Thanks Jay," Kelsi thanked her boyfriend flashing him a smile. "Jason and I just wanted you to know that we are now engaged to be married."

In her pocket, Taylor could feel her phone vibrate, only to find that she had received a text message. "Let's go," was all it said, and she winked at Chad unknown to everyone to let the games begin.

Chad knew exactly what she meant by the wink she had given him, after they knew each other so well that they could read the other like a book. "So uh, Jay, Kels, did you pick a date yet?" he asked in the hopes that Taylor would catch on and follow his lead.

"You idiotic scum!" Taylor replied, "they've just gotten engaged, they probably haven' thought of any of that yet!"

"I'm just curious!" Chad defended himself.

"Curiosity killed the cat!" Taylor argued.

"But satisfactory brought him back." Chad smirked. He knew he was pushing her buttons, and he must admit it was fun.

"I'm so glad we broke up, you are the most impossible lunkhead scum on the planet!" Taylor said unsure of what else to say. "You always do need to have the last word don't you?"

"Oh stop trying to act like the goody two shoes, when you're the exact same way!" Chad said, "You are always trying to outsmart me, but you know it never works." He knew this was making her angrier every minute, but that was the way he liked it.

"SHUT-UP!" Sharpay screamed at the top of her lungs, forcing everyone to look at her. "I came here to spend time with you all, but if Mr. and Mrs. Danforth keep arguing, then I'm leaving."

Taylor and Chad looked at each other with raised eyebrows and said flatly, "Eww."

"Oh come now," Troy said, "a month ago you couldn't wait until you were married."

"We've got to do something and fast!" Gabriella hissed to her husband, "I don't think I can take much more of this."

"I'm with you on that," Troy whispered back.

After a while of whispering among them, "That will never work!" Gabriella screeched obviously frustrated. "Are you Looney?!"

"No!" Troy yelled back indignantly, sounding lame even to him. "But this won't fail!"

"Oh really?" Gabriella questioned, "All the others do!" They would have continued if it weren't for Sharpay and her incredibly loud voice.

"You're almost as bad as those two!" she shouted at them referring to Chad and Taylor. "Now if there is going to be any more kindergarten fights that are going to take place, I'm leaving."

"Yeah," Ryan said agreeing with his sister. "What happened to 'like kindergarten'? When we all trusted and gotten along with each other? When we all _**LOVED**_ each other, what happened?"

Sharpay mumbled, "That's not what I meant."

"That was nice Ryan, very touching," Kelsi said.

"Yes, very nice Ry," Sharpay said sarcastically.

"I remember back in high school," Zeke said wrapping his arms around Sharpay who smiled, and everyone looked at him. "When it was just the nine of us, and we had no cares in the world, when we used to live for the moment, and not care what the future had in store."

"I remember when Chad brought a turtle to school," Jason said making everyone smile from the memory.

"Oh yeah," Taylor laughed, "That was hilarious."

"I remember like it was only yesterday," Chad said.

**Flashback-**

"_Hey guys! Guys' girls," Seventeen year old Chad Danforth called to his group of eight friends. "You have got to see what I've got."_

"_What is it?" they all asked quite curious to as of what Chad could possible have that was so cool._

"_This," Chad said pulling something out of his backpack. It happened to be a turtle. They all had different reactions to this absurd behavior._

_Sharpay had screamed and jumped into Zeke's arms, who blinked, Ryan on the other hand had grown wide-eyed and clutched Zeke's arm, which was now turning red. Jason and Kelsi were off in their own little world, but were still shocked and completely aware of what was going on around them. Troy couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his best friend smiling a broad yet cheesy smile all at the same time while holding the turtle. Gabriella shook her head at the absurd behavior of the curly-afro boy. Taylor's was the most appropriate for the occasion. She was fuming at the ears with smoke almost literally coming out, and her face was beat red. "You brought a turtle to school?" she fumed._

"_Yup!" he confirmed, "and his name's Taylor. I found him by a lake yesterday after school."_

"_How thoughtful," Taylor said faking a smile._

**End Flashback-**

"Yeah, but the real adventure began when Chad lost the turtle," Kelsi added.

**Flashback-**

"_It's gone!" Chad exclaimed frantically to his friends, "Taylor's gone!"_

"_But Taylor was with us the whole time," Troy said slowly._

"_No, not that Taylor, the other Taylor, you know, my Taylor, Taylor the Turtle!" (A/N: I do not own the phrase Taylor the Turtle. My band teacher Miss Hakala thought of it when my friend Taylor was playing the tenor sax. He had his shoulders hunched, so he resembled a turtle. And Miss Hakala said, "Taylor the Turtle." So I do not own that phrase.)_

"_What?!" they all cried, "you lost him?!" _

"_Yes!" Chad replied frantically, "He was getting all snuggly with my basketball, so I left him on the bleachers in the gym so he could watch me play, and then he was gone!"_

_You didn't have to tell any of them twice; when a friend is in trouble they help them no matter what. They just ran straight to the gym tearing it apart to find Taylor the Turtle._

"_Taylor!" they all called out, while Taylor walked into the gym and asked_

"_What?"_

"_Not Taylor, I want Taylor! My Taylor!"_

"_Chad," she said, "I'm right here."_

"_He means the turtle," Jason said. "I think."_

"_Of course he means the turtle!" Sharpay snapped._

"_You don't need to bite!" Troy said hastily._

"_I didn't!" Sharpay hollered back, "Zekey," she whined, "tell them to be nice."_

**End Flashback-**

"Yeah, but it wasn't so good when Coach Bolton walked in and asked what we were doing," Ryan reminded them.

**Flashback-**

"_What are you all doing in here, shouldn't you be in class?" Coach Bolton asked skeptically as he walked into the East High gymnasium, to find his son and his son's eight friends._

_Troy smiled sheepishly at his father and said, "Well you see dad, I mean coach…Chad will be glad to tell you the whole story, won't you Chad?"_

_Shooting a glare in Troy's direction, Chad began one of his many ridiculous yet unforgettable stories. There was no doubt that anyone would believe him, they never did. "And that is why we are not in class."_

"_Circus monkeys?" Zeke whispered to Chad, "That was the best you could do?"_

"_Troy," Coach Bolton said eyeing his son suspiciously, "The truth?"_

"_Chad brought a turtle named Taylor to school and lost it. Somewhere in here."_

"_I figured Chad had something to do with this," Coach Bolton laughed and showed them Taylor the Turtle._

"_TAYLOR!!!!!!" Chad exclaimed as he ran to the turtle and kissed it._

"_I can't believe it; he likes a turtle more than me."_

**End Flashback-**

"Yeah, those were some good times, weren't they?" Taylor sighed remembering the memory. "Whatever happened to Taylor?"

"Oh," Chad said smiling, "He's still around, and Turtles live for like ever."

"Those were some crazy times we had," Gabriella said, "But they were fun too. Zeke was totally right, back then we never thought of what the future held, we lived for then, now we're talking about marriage and what not. What happened?"

"Yeah," Sharpay said standing up, "I didn't come here to talk sentimental and remember the past, I'm leaving. Bye Zeke, I'll see you later, don't be late. Come Ryan!"

"Call me!" Chad mouthed to Ryan as the Evans left.

**Four and a half pages long. Wow. Chad and Ryan are not gay, you must remember their plan. Alright? Good. Please review! An update on this might be a little longer, but I promise as soon as I get an idea written down I'll post it. I know that Chad and Ryan's plan was to get Sharpay and Zeke together again, but they got together on their own, so Chad has another plan. Will it work? And what is it? **


	9. Oh My God

It's been a long time since last I updated, I know

**It's been a long time since last I updated, I know. I would have updated sooner, but I had writer's block, and a lot of you know what that is like, I'm sure. **

They had a big problem on their hands here. Sharpay and Zeke were together, yeah, but Chad and Ryan had to get them engaged. But that was the big problem, Sharpay and Zeke had just started dating, so a diamond ring would be the last thing on their minds.

Ryan was waiting for Sharpay to finish getting ready for her date with Zeke. When she appeared in the living room, where her brother was waiting, she was wearing a pink skirt with a matching sparkly pink top and jacket. "Be back at 9:30, so I don't have to worry all night." Ryan told her, "That gives you five hours. And remember, mom and dad don't want to be grandparents just yet, and I don't want to help raise any kids, for at least a few more years."

"You don't have to worry about that," Sharpay assured him shuddering at the thought of kids.

"Good," Ryan said hugging her. When they released each other, he looked at her, and said, "You might want to fix your eye makeup."

"Thanks," Sharpay replied running back upstairs.

While Sharpay was upstairs, the doorbell rang, so Ryan answered the door. It was Zeke.

"Hey Ryan," Zeke greeted, "is Sharpay ready?"

"Almost, she'll be down in a minute."

"Excellent," Zeke smiled to himself. After a small pause, he asked, "You're okay with me dating your sister, aren't you?" He sounded worried.

"Of course I am," Ryan told his friend, "you make Shar happy, so I'm happy. You're the only guy she's ever dated that's loved her for her."

"Hey Zeke," Sharpay smiled at her boyfriend while descending down the stairs.

"Let's go," Zeke smiled taking her arm.

When Sharpay and zeke went on their date, Ryan smiled to himself, just watching the two walking out to Zeke's car. He watched Zeke open and close the door for Sharpay, like she was a queen, and he a worthless slave. He watched them drive away, just standing there in the living room. Until he heard a loud BOOM! Coming from the kitchen.

"What the heck is going….Chad?" Ryan asked coming into the kitchen seeing his big haired friend in a heap on the floor, amidst all the pots and pans and why was he eating a hamburger? Chad was dressed all in black.

"You broke the door down?" Ryan asked trying to keep his cool.

"I needed someway to get into the house," Chad shrugged like it was no big deal.

"The door was unlocked."

"But I wanted to play spy chase!"

"You broke the door down!"

"You're rich."

"My parents aren't going to pay for this! When Sharpay sees this, she's going to be on the warpath!"

"We'll have it fixed before she gets home from having sex with Zeke, relax."

"This can't be good." Ryan muttered to himself, getting a migraine.

There was small pause of silence, where no one spoke, just silently thought. That was until Chad said something stupid. Or at least it sounded stupid to Ryan. "I know how to get Sharpay and Zeke engaged!"

"How?" Ryan asked his friend, "you gonna ask Sharpay yourself?"

"Hell no!" Chad replied, "I'm still hooked on Taylor, even though she can be a pain in the…"

"Chad!" Ryan scolded his friend, "watch your language, there could be little kids reading this!" he paused, "or teenagers who are just little kids at heart."

"What kind of teenager do you think wrote this crap?" Chad replied with a question.

**(A/N Please don't ask about that. I didn't know what to write, so I had to add something, and as I got to thinking, it was funny, so I decided to go that way. But yeah weird huh?)**

"Anywho," Chad said, "to get Zeke to pop the question, we need to persuade him to do it."

"How did you arrive at that?" Ryan asked, "Make it up?"

"No," Chad said, "I read a book. And in it, this girl Luneta could pretty much persuade anyone to do what she wanted. Like she persuaded the Lady Laudine to marry her cousin, even though her cousin was the man who killed her husband."

"Wa wait," Ryan choked out amazed, "you read a book?"

"Yes," Chad said, "I did read a book."

"You just watched the movie."

"I don't think there is a movie about the book."

"Taylor read it, and told you about it."

"I read the book after she ended our engagement."

"Oh my god!" Ryan said, "You did read a book!" 

"Told ya I can read." Chad said, "If I couldn't, I wouldn't have been able to read the official basketball rule book, or _Romeo and Juliet_."

Ryan was even more surprised, "you read _Romeo and Juliet_?"

"Yes," Chad replied, "I did read _Romeo and Juliet_."

"Why?"

"Your twin told me it had a happy ending. By the way, she was so wrong!"

"You listened to my sister?!" Ryan asked him.

"I can't believe they killed themselves!"

"To be with their lovers!"

"Well then, that is stupid!"

"You would never understand."

"Are you telling me you like that crap?"

"Yes!"

"Are you gay?"

"NO!"

"Good," Chad said, "just making sure."

"Thanks for dinner Zeke and the movie," Sharpay said kissing him lightly. "I really enjoyed it. See ya tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Zeke smiled.

"Okay."

A car door slammed, well not entirely, just shut loudly. Ryan and Chad looked at each other alarmed. There was no way Sharpay was back already! An engine started, a car drove away. Ah crap! Sharpay was home! This was not good! They still didn't fix the back door! Ryan looked at Chad like 'you're gonna die.'

"I know what to do!" Chad said."

"What?!"

"You go and stall here for a few days, I'll fix this!"

"Okay," Ryan agreed going into the living room to greet his sister who was two hours early. He saw his sister set her purse down on the night stand and took of her shoes and threw them to the side. "Hey Sharpay," he said, "It's only seven o'clock."

"Yeah," Sharpay said, "Zeke took me out too see a movie, and then we went out for dinner, he has to get up early tomorrow to be at work early, so we ended the date short."

"That must have been fun, what movie did you see?"

There was a huge BOOM! In the kitchen. "What was that?" Sharpay asked her brother curiously. The two blonde twins ran frantically into the kitchen, to see their big haired friend Chad amidst the piles of wood, pots, pans, etc, eating another hamburger.

"What happened?" Sharpay asked furiously.

"Chad broke the door down, and he is now trying to fix it," Ryan said.

Sharpay began to fume, but then she calmly breathed and said, "You are so lucky I had a good time on my date."

"See what you did Chad?" Ryan asked when Sharpay went upstairs to unwind.

I spent almost four whole pages mostly on Chad and Ryan here, so I'm switching it up a little to Troy and Gabriella. Troy and Gabriella were in their kitchen. Gabriella was making dinner, while Troy was setting the table.

"So, how the heck are we going to get Chad and Taylor to meet face to face?" Gabriella asked Troy, hinting she was stressing over the idea.

"We have to do that?" Troy asked oblivious.

"Yes Troy!"

Troy had completely forgotten about the plan after a few days. He knew they were running out of time, I mean hello, Valentines Day was less than a week away! Is there really any hope for them to get back together though? Taylor and Chad obviously hated each other; there was no way they could ever get the two back together. I guess some things aren't just meant to be. One problem, Gabriella could be the most stubborn person in the world if she wanted to be, so there was no way she would give up on this.

"So do you know what Chad and Ryan are plotting together?" Troy asked changing the subject.

"I heard, that they're trying to get Shar and Zeke engaged," Gabriella replied. "How they're going to do that, I have no clue."

"Don't we have enough problems going around here with engaged people?" Troy asked. "I mean, Taylor and Chad, I'm not going to be surprised if Kelsi and Jason start having some problems later on, and I'm not going to be surprised either if Sharpay and Zeke break up. After all the Evans' are going to go back to New York City!" The two remained silent, as they began to eat their dinner. "Didn't they see each other the other day at the park?"

"They did, but all they did was argue," Gabriella pointed out. "We need them to see each other, where they work together."

"Maybe we should step down and let fate step in instead," Troy suggested.

"Fate smate," Gabriella said.

"Now you sound like Sharpay."

**So, there's chapter 9. This will probably end up being one of my longest stories. Well, my longest story so far is ten chapters long, but I know this one is going to be a lot longer than that. Because a lot of things still need to happen before this story is complete. Gabriella wants to continue with their plan, Troy wants to let fate step in? What will happen there? And will Chad's plan to get Sharpay and Zeke engaged work? And what about Sharpay and Zeke's plan? Will everything all work out in the end? Will Jason and Kelsi have problems like Troy said? Will Zeke and Sharpay break up, before they even go to far? Read to find out what happens in the upcoming chapters of **_**So Close Yet so Far.**_** Remember, the more updates, the sooner I update. **


	10. Girl Night

**I'm sorry, that this has taken me so long to update. But everything is crazy. My senior year is crazy, and nothing like HSM3! But I update now. And hope that you like this chapter.**

"A part of me wants to work things out with Chad," Taylor told Gabriella who was over at her house. The two had gotten together to enjoy each other's company not doing much of anything. "But then again I just think of how mad he made me and then I never want to see him again."

"Taylor," Gabriella said, "You and Chad were downright crazy for each other after junior year. You are guys are perfect for each other. You guys can work together on anything and make it work out."

"I know," Taylor sighed.

"We're going to forget Chad for now," Gabriella said to Taylor. "However on Saturday, we're going to go to that basketball game. And pretend we're back in high school for a minute."

"Do I have to?" Taylor asked.

"Yes."

"Fine."

So Gabriella and Taylor spent the entire day together. They went shopping for a while, watched "I Love Lucy" made pigs out of themselves by stuffing their face with chocolate ice cream, did each other's hair, and gotten out a scrapbook of their senior year in high school, and laughed and cried together over it. Doing nothing but having fun. However Gabriella knew in the near future it wasn't going to be much fun….

**I'm sorry for the long wait, and this short and crappy chapter. In the next chapter I think will be the game. I'm sorry, but Chad and Taylor aren't getting back together in time. If you can just hold on, they'll get back together. Much later though.**


End file.
